March 24 Everett Herald runs first article on dilapidated track at Cascade High School (http://www.heraldnet.

.com/article/20110324/sports01/703249850/-1/rss40) March 25+ - Cascade XC and T&F students engage in letter writing campaign to the Herald (other letters from public also published on issue). May 6 Everett Herald runs article detailing delays in track progress (http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110506/NEWS01/705069855) May 6 Herald blog suggesting Everett last large district with cinder tracks (http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110506/BLOG40/110509871) May 6+ - Many more letters to Herald published, all in support of new track and field. May 23 At the regular board meeting Carl Shipley requests the board and superintendent move quickly to replace the track and field at Cascade HS. While other improvements like baseball and softball diamonds are needed I suggest they be funded by a future bond. My emphasis is on replacing the track and field now. Early June Robert Polk (District AD) requests meeting with Cascade parents to administer a survey to gauge our support for track and field upgrades. June 14 Carl speaks at the board meeting urging track and field construction now, other upgrades after bond passage. Request it be listed as one of the options for the survey the next night. June 15 Sup. Gary Cohn, Director Jeff Russell and District AD Robert Polk have parents fill out a survey to determine the level of support. This meeting is held at the Cascade library. Despite numerous requests from me to the board and Dr. Cohn to fund both track and field now and other improvements like baseball and softball diamonds years later from the bond, Garys survey provides us with only 2 options. - New track only at Cascade summer 2012 - Nothing until after 2014, at which point track, field, lights, other upgrades would be funded from the bond (if it passes). Because of the extremities of the two choices an animated discussion breaks out. Parents are upset that were only given these two choices. Carl asked Dr. Cohn very directly why a field was not included as an option and he cited lack of money. He then asked him, if there were enough money for both track and field and the new administration building right now, which would you place at a higher priority if you had to build either one first? He refused to answer the question, saying he could only make recommendations to the board. Carl then asked Jeff Russell how he would prioritize the admin building vs. track and field at Cascade. He said he could not comment on behalf of the board since he was only one person. July 5 Everett board approves Resolution 1022, allocating $2M for tracks at Cascade and Jackson August 15 - Robert Polk and 2 facilities contacts meet with Cascade parents, Cascade coaches, Everett Parks and Rec reps. They ask what improvements wed like to see and when. The group agrees the first choice is a track and field in same location as existing, as soon as possible, and other upgrades (second field, baseball/softball diamonds, lights) to be done later perhaps from bond money. If the parents are

willing to raise enough money themselves and donate it to the district they will accept the money and use it to build a new field. September 14 - Robert Polk meets with Cascade parents, provides first cost estimates for track and field at Cascade. Track+Field estimate is $1,953,124. This includes a 28% overhead estimate, which were informed is not negotiable. The $1.953M figure is just an estimate. Final cost to be provided soon thereafter. October 16 - Robert Polk and district facilities reps Hal Buemel and Charles Booth present final costs. Track alone is $630,000. Field is an additional $1.5M. We ask if were allowed to use the entire $1M toward track and field (carrying $370,000 remaining toward field), meaning wed only have to raise $1,130,000 for the field. Were told they cant guarantee the money will still be there since Resolution 1022 only included money for tracks. At that meeting we were informed that they would construct a field along with the track next summer (2012) if we (Cascade booster parents) raise $1.5M by midDecember this year (2011). If we could not the field schedule could shift 1 year (i.e. track summer 2012, raise $1.5M by December 2012, field summer 2013). November 21 Everett Herald runs article on boards approval of $3.1M additional funding for the new administration building. November 21 evening Carl sends an email to entire board and Dr. Cohn asking them to confirm 4 points. - The Everett School District refuses to fund construction of a synthetic turf field at Cascade High School with existing monies in the districts capital funds. Although Resolution 1022 allocated $1 million for synthetic track construction at Cascade, and despite the districts own cost estimates of the track at $631,800, this district refuses to apply the remaining $369,200 toward further improvements to the Cascade athletic fields. The district will allow a private funding campaign to cover the estimated $1.5 million for a synthetic field turf. The district has approved an additional $3.1 million out of its own monies for its new administration complex.

November 22 Directors Ed Petersen and Jessica Olsen respond. Board President (at the time) Petersens response: The Board has not discussed the $1million set-aside since July. I can only speak as one
individual Board member, but I'd be interested in knowing what could be accomplished by leaving the whole million dollar amount available for the Cascade track and field project. Director Olsens response:

There is no justification for what is occurring with the athletic fields and I am completely sympathetic to your cause. To me, the situation is obvious: allocating capital funds to replace and update tracks and fields has a direct benefit to students, and should take priority over a new administration building, which, if it has any conceivable benefit whatsoever students (of which I cannot think of one single example), it would be indirect benefit to students, and a stretch -- at best.

No response from Dr.. Cohn or the other board members. Later that day, about an hour before the board meeting, Mike Gunn, district facilities director, responds to Carls email, addressing the 4 points in my email, with the following. Funding allocations for the Community Resource Center (CRC) [admin. Bldg..] project do not impact the funding authorized by the board for the tracks in resolution 1022. The school boards recent approval of an estimated $800,000 increase for the CRC does not impact the committed $2 million for the track projects at the two high schools. Monies committed in Resolution 1022 on July 5, 2011 in the amount of $2 million are committed to synthetic tracks and site studies. Any monies left over from that amount will be available for future synthetic fields or other improvements to the outdoor facilities at those schools, contingent on a process involving stakeholder support and additional funding sources. The district is in total support of private funding campaigns to build sports facilities at Cascade and H.M. Jackson that meet the needs and match the resources of each school community. Existing district capital funds are committed to a wide variety of projects throughout the district, including the new tracks at Cascade and H.M. Jackson. November 22 evening At regular board meeting Gary Cohn presents a slide emphasizing the districts support of the new tracks at Cascade and Jackson, and states that the entire $1M can be used at each site (presenting the information Mike Gunn had sent to me hours before). December 13 We speak at the regular school board meeting. It is Director Jeff Russells first meeting as board president, having been elected to the position at the beginning of the meeting. All spoke about the need for a field at Cascade (which cannot be used 5 months out of the year by the districts own admission). Carl spoke last. At the end of his 3 minutes President Russell warned that he was dangerously close to crossing a line by ascribing motive and cautioned me against future comments (video posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmxWoq-_TfA&feature=youtu.be). At the end of the meeting the board asks Robert Polk what his opinion on if the Cascade parent group was still interested in raising the money. He stated there was considerable energy earlier but it appears to have faded a little (paraphrasing from memory). Nobody on the board thinks to ask any of the BCP members in the audience what they think. The board then in 5 minutes decides that the entire facilities at both Cascade and Jackson need to be upgraded, and somehow arrive at a $9M estimate for everything. That high amount compels them to put it to further study and consider putting everything but the track on hold until the bond passes in 3 years. December 14 Email exchange between the board and Carl concerning President Jeff Russells rebuke, posted at http://www.scribd.com/doc/75875327/RE-Tonight-s-Board-Meeting-and-Comments.